Genealogists love to locate pictures of their
ancestors. But we cannot always locate a picture of each ancestor.
Signatures of family members provide a different glimpse of our ancestors
and sometimes serve genealogical uses. And sometimes they are easier to come
by than ancestral photographs or paintings. There are several places to
potentially locate the “John Hancock” of your John Smith both in and outside
your house.

Home Sources
Letters, diaries, and other home sources are excellent places to look for
signatures of various family members. Unfortunately, many of us do not find
letters and diaries left by our ancestors. Cancelled checks and other
“non-traditional” sources may also contain the handwriting of your ancestor.
The family Bible may contain handwriting of family members, but without
other samples, you may not be able to determine who wrote what.

Sources Outside the Home
Bear in mind that many records containing ancestor's names were not written
by our ancestor. Vital records and census records were filled out by office
clerks or actual census takers. In early courthouse records, the handwritten
copies of wills, deeds, and other records are in the handwriting of the
clerk (an early “copy” machine). A will record may contain a handwritten
transcription of your family member's will and show his or her signature and
“seal,” but that signature is only a “copy.” In some cases the will and
other original probate material may be kept in a separate file.

The following are some places to obtain copies of ancestral signatures.
Please do not consider this list to be comprehensive. To learn more about
these sources, consult The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy,
edited by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking.

Pension Applications. If your ancestor received a military pension
or a widow's pension, records of this pension might contain a signature of
the pensioner. My great-great-grandfather's Civil War pension file contains
the only available copy of his signature.

Marriage Records. An initial caveat: Marriage records vary greatly
from state to state and from one time period to another. However, your
ancestors' marriage record might contain the signatures of the bride and
groom. If there are consent bonds, the signatures of the fathers may be
contained in the file. If one of the parties was underage, there might be a
letter of consent. Unfortunately, in many cases, there will only be a note
indicating “parental consent” that does not even name the parents. Later
marriages may include signatures of witnesses who may be siblings of the
bride or groom.

Birth Records. Some records MAY contain the signature of one of
the parents. The most likely signature is that of the doctor. More modern
records may contain the signature of the mother, and possibly the father.
The birth certificate of my wife and myself contain our mothers' signatures
and not our fathers'. I had to sign my oldest daughter's birth certificate
before she could leave the hospital, but did not have to sign my other
daughter's certificate two years later. Laws and forms change over time.

Death Records. Your ancestor hopefully did not sign his or her own
death certificate. However, this record may contain the signature of the
informant (if recent enough), which in some cases is a relative. Keep in
mind that hospital record clerks are the informants on a large number of
death certificates.

Court Records.

If your ancestor was involved in a court case, the
packet of original papers (if available) may contain ancestral signatures. I
obtained a copy of the mark of my fourth great-grandmother Susannah Rucker
Tinsley from a Fleming County, Kentucky, court case in the 1820s. The only
copy of her son Enoch's signature was obtained in the same way. Your
ancestor may have signed a document or provided testimony in a case in which
he was not directly involved.

Naturalizations. Your ancestor's declaration of intent or final
naturalization papers could contain his or her signature. Keep in mind that
before 1906, any court could naturalize a citizen, and some immigrants filed
their declarations of intent near where they landed and most likely
completed the process where they settled. They Became Americans: Finding
Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins, by Loretto Szucs, provides an
excellent tutorial on naturalization records.

Probate Records.

The probate record of William Gibson from Harford
County, Maryland, in the 1790s contains the only known copy of the signature
of his daughter, Sarah Rampley. The will of Ulfert Behrens in Adams County,
Illinois, in the 1870s contains the only copy of his signature. The estate
settlement of Michael Trautvetter, also from the 1870s, contains receipts
signed by his twelve or so heirs. This was an excellent place to get copies
of signatures for these individuals.

Petitions. Did your ancestor sign any petitions? The Isaac Rucker
listed on an early Virginia Religious Petition dated November 10, 1779 in
Amherst County is a likely ancestor of mine. John DeMoss signed a 1768
Maryland petition regarding the moving of the Baltimore county seat from
Joppa to Baltimore. The originals of these petitions are housed in the
respective state archives or libraries. County facilities may also have
records of this type.

Siblings and Extended Family Members. Your ancestor's signature
may appear in a record for one of his or her siblings. Some quick examples
from my own research illustrate this:

Witnesses on the marriages of three of my great-grandparents were
relatives, including siblings of the couple and in one case the bride's
mother. My second great-grandmother testified for her sister-in-law's Civil
War widow's pension and signed her statement. Another ancestor signed the
marriage bond for his sister in Kentucky in the 1820s.

Neighbors. John H. Ufkes witnessed the will of his neighbor in
Basco, Hancock County, Illinois in the 1890s. Many wills and other documents
were witnessed by neighbors or relatives. The will of James Rampley from
Harford County, Maryland in 1812 was witnessed by relatives and neighbors.
Foche Goldenstein's homestead claim from Dawson County, Nebraska in the
1880s contains testimony (and signatures) of two witnesses who staked claims
near his.

Comrades. The Civil War pension file of Riley Rampley contains a
signed affidavit from Wilford Manlove. Wilford served in Riley's unit and
was there the day Riley collapsed on the battlefield due to sunstroke. At
the bottom of Wilford's statement is his signature. For service in earlier
wars such testimony may have been even more crucial due to the destruction
of records or poor record keeping. After all, during wartime, keeping
records for later pension claims is not a high priority.

Census Taker, County Clerk, Judge, Notary, etc. If your ancestor
was employed by or involved with any organization that created records, his
or her signature (or at least handwriting) may be available on numerous
pages. Census takers signed the returns, county clerks (be careful as their
sub-clerk might have signed some documents for them), county office clerical
staff, sheriffs, doctors, lawyers, and others might have signed any of a
number of official records.

But Is All This Necessary?
Obtaining copies of your ancestor's signatures can be done partially for the
fun of it. There are more of my ancestors for whom I have signatures than
for whom I have pictures. This is especially true in earlier years. But
signatures can serve other purposes as well. In some cases, a genealogical
“case” may partially hinge on using a signature to “document” that two
people with the same name are in fact the same person.

Also, by comparing the handwriting in a family Bible to other handwriting
samples (ideally more than just a signature), you may be able to determine
who made the entries. This can substantially impact the value of the Bible's
information. If the entry was made by someone who was most likely present at
the event, the information is more likely to be accurate than if it was made
a generation or two later.

I like to collect signatures of ancestors. I don't have all that many
pictures, and only one couple had their portrait painted. Signatures are a
little bit easier to collect and sometimes lead to new and unexpected
information.

This reference provides specific information for each of the fifty United
States.

Copyright 2000, Michael John Neill. Michael John Neill, is the Course
I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of Mid America (GIMA) held
annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also on the faculty of Carl
Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael is the Web columnist for
the FGS FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois State
Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts seminars and lectures on a
wide variety of genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several
genealogical publications, including Ancestry Magazine and
Genealogical Computing. You can email him at:
mneill@asc.csc.cc.il.us or
visit his Web site at:
http://www.rootdig.com/.